Stormy Skies
by Seth Destrucdos de Mardio
Summary: Anastasia Atoms is like no one else. She has the unique ability to change the atom structure of anything she touches but she isn't all there. If she lived long enough doctors would have declared her mentally insane. But being a mentally insane bitch wasn't the reason why Skulduggery Pleasant loved her.
1. CHAPTER ONE

**Stormy Skies**

**CHAPTER ONE**

* * *

><p><em>1685…<em>

_Getting out Dublin – the city where the resistance movement against Mevolent was basically based – was harder than getting in. For someone who was basically on Mevolent's side coming to Dublin was never a smart idea but Anastasia hardly ever made a smart decision in her whole life._

_Anastasia took cover behind buildings and made her way towards the closet exit to Dublin. Anastasia knew it was going to be hard but Anastasia liked the challenge. She ran towards the exit but she was seen by the weaker guards. She had been told before attempting to leave not to kill anyone but killing people was who Anastasia was. It was one of the reasons why the resistance hated her. Anastasia cared about no one which made her the perfect assassin. Sometimes she killed people just for fun._

_Anastasia pulled one of her two swords off from its scabbard that hang from her waist before running directly towards the guard that had spotted her. She ran with the sword to her side but as she neared the guy she swang her sword towards his neck before he even had the chance to pull his own sword out of its scabbard. The guy was instantly dead and Anastasia pulled her sword from his neck with ease. But this action had attracted the attention of the other guards._

_Anastasia made a quick one second decision based off the suggestion her best friend had given her. She decided that she didn't have time to kill more people even though she would like too. She turned and ran towards the exit. As she ran she sheathed her sword, escaping the city after that wasn't that hard but losing the men chasing her was a little harder._

_Anastasia made it to a nearby hill and decided that she had had enough of running. It wasn't getting her anywhere and if she ever met up with her best friend again she could at least say she tried to escape without killing anyone. Anastasia stood at the top of that hill under the storm clouds above her head with both swords in her hands._

_Anastasia stared down at the group of men that had stopped at the bottom of the hill. The most of them were scared and they should be. They kept glancing up at the storm clouds above her head and then down at her. That's when she realised what they were thinking. Since everyone knew she was a sorcerer they all had their own ideas at what type of sorcerer she was. Of course Anastasia being Anastasia had never told – excluding her best friend – anyone what type of sorcerer she was so naturally most people get freaked out by anything._

_That night it was clear that they all thought she was controlling the storm clouds above her head, which had just rolled in from nowhere. Anastasia would have loved to able to control those storm clouds but she couldn't control storm clouds or anything weather related._

_The men at the bottom of the hill slowly made their way towards Anastasia and Anastasia decided to freak them out a little more. She raised one of swords into the air and pointed it towards the storm clouds. If Anastasia could see the future she would have chosen not to do that and would have kept running but she couldn't see the future so she never saw the next thing coming._

_A lightning bolt came down from the storm clouds and struck Anastasia's sword before causing through her entire body. It was unclear what happened at first because everyone was blinded by the lightning bolt striking the ground but when they could see again Anastasia was gone. The majority of the men standing at the bottom of the hill believed that she had used the lightning as cover and ran off while they were blinded. But what really happened was much worse._

* * *

><p><em>Present Day…<em>

Above the city of Dublin the sky filled with dark clouds and lightning flickered and flashed through the sky. But this wasn't your normal storm cloud even though it appeared very normal. This storm cloud would bring something that the world had thought was gone. Something the world hadn't seen in 329 years. Something the good guys didn't like in anyway.

The lightning continued to travel from cloud to cloud until it finally stuck the ground in the exactly same spot it had 329 years earlier. There was a big flash of light and a sizzle of where the lightning had burned the grass on the hill. The lightning bolt disappeared as quickly as it appeared. The ground had been burnt and there was a huge spot where the grass had been burnt leaving only dirt and ash.

But that wasn't the only thing that the lightning left behind. Lying face down on the ground was a person, a girl. They wore a tailored made coat of black and grey material. The coat reached their waist where a light blue scarf was used as a belt. The pants they wore were black and ruffled along their legs as if they were too long but they had been made that way. Under it all was a fancy white undershirt that was no longer white thanks to the dirt she was lying in. Hanging from their waist were two swords but these weren't normal straight swords. They appeared more like your old school pirate swords, scimitars. The hilt of the swords were made from a copper coloured metal while the blade of the swords was made of a metal that was either painted black or was black.

The oddest thing about this girl was the fact she did not appear 329 years old. Her clothes didn't appear to have been sitting around for 329 years they appeared as if they were made a week ago which was the same story with the swords.

She appeared to be dead. She didn't move as she lied there. Her chest and body remained still and if anyone were to find there they would find that she had no heartbeat and find that she really was dead. But when the thunder rolled across the sky she suddenly gasped and started to spit dirt out of her mouth.

The first time she tried to get up she fell back down because she arms were basically asleep. It was like waking from a coma but a 329 year old coma. The second time she tried to get up she managed to get her knees because her legs were still weak but since she was a sorcerer energy and feeling was slowly returning to her body unlike a real coma patient. When she got to her feet she didn't remained on her feet for long. This time it was the thunder and lightning. She flinched and fell over this time landing on her back.

She quickly got to her feet and ran away from the dead spot on the ground hoping she wouldn't get struck by lightning again. She reached some buildings that were unfamiliar to her but she didn't care. She stood there for a moment shaking like crazy. She wasn't shaking because it was cold but because she was making sure she wasn't going to fall apart. She had been struck by lightning and no one had really lived to tell the tale as far as she knew so she had no real idea of how to think about this.

* * *

><p>Skulduggery Pleasant was alone inside his Bentley this time. He had got a call about a disturbance and since it was the middle of the night he decided not to wake Valkyrie. Plus it was only a small disturbance so he decided to deal with it himself. He stopped outside the bar and activated his façade before getting out of his Bentley.<p>

He stepped inside the bar he noticed Geoffrey Scrutinous working with some of the bar staff. Skulduggery only walked over to Geoffrey to get the details of what had happened or what was happening.

"What seems to be the problem?" Skulduggery asked when he reached Geoffrey.

"I believe it is just drunk behaviour or someone's idea of a prank," Geoffrey said.

"So I got out of bed for nothing?" Skulduggery said even though he didn't sleep.

"I guess so."

"So what did they see?" Skulduggery asked out of curiosity.

"They managed to give me a very detailed discussion of a person but it is not someone I recognise," Geoffrey said.

"And those details are," Skulduggery asked.

"A female in her early twenties with short golden brown hair which was spiked up in all odd angles, she was wearing a black and grey coat with a laced white undershirt and black ruffled pants with a light blue scarf being used as a belt. Strapped to her waist were two swords with black blades and copper coloured handles. One also claimed to see a tattoo of a rose on the side of her neck," Geoffrey said.

"And you thought they weren't seeing anything at all."

"I also said that it could be someone's idea of a joke, whoever it is doesn't sound very dangerous," Geoffrey said.

"Just because they don't sound dangerous doesn't mean they aren't."

"I know."

"Did anyone say anything about where she went?" Skulduggery asked.

"One guy did say she seemed out of place and that she asked for the way to the centre of town."

Skulduggery nodded to himself before leaving the bar. He got back behind the wheel of his Bentley and he drove towards the centre of the city and saw nothing out of place, yet. Skulduggery knew who this was. He knew who actually she was, Anastasia.

* * *

><p>As far as she could tell she was halfway way to the centre of the city. As she walked along the side of the street she noticed many things that she didn't understand. The most obvious thing was the things made of metal with what appeared four wheels. She had no idea what they were but she decided not to think about it because then she would just get more confused.<p>

She continued towards the city centre when she noticed something in the window of a store. She stopped walking and turned towards the window. She looked through the window and read the tag of the item they were clearly selling. _The new 2014 version, _the tag read. She shook her head.

_2014, it cannot be 2014 it was sixteen hundred and eighty five, what happened to me? _She thought as she looked down at her own hands as she felt a tingle travel through her hands.


	2. CHAPTER TWO

**Stormy Skies**

**CHAPTER TWO**

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><p>When Anastasia reached the centre of town it looked practically empty. Nothing looked familiar and she was still stuck on the idea that it was 2014 and not 1685. Anastasia stood under the light of one of the street lamps because she didn't care about being found. She was in a world she did not know. She looked around and noticed that the lights inside a few of the building were on while the majority of the lights were out. The lights were another interesting thing to her. So much had changed in almost three hundred and thirty years.<p>

She stood there trying to remember what had happened yesterday or 329 years ago. It was blurred and fuzzy. She remembered coming into Dublin but she didn't remember why or how she got out if she got out. For all she knew she could still be in Dublin. It sure felt like Dublin.

Anastasia instantly felt like threatening someone to find out what was really going on but before she could step away from the street lamp someone called out to her. They said her name, her taken name of course. She didn't even remember her given name anymore.

"Anastasia," they said.

Anastasia froze for a moment. She couldn't figure out how anyone would know her then she remembered magic's effect on aging. She slowly turned to face the person who said her name. Standing a few metres away was a skinny man in an elegant suit with a hat to match. She stared at him but couldn't put a name to the face.

"How do you know me?" she asked.

He came closer to her and she just stepped backwards every time he stepped forward, so he just stopped walking and she stopped stepping backwards.

"Who are you?" Anastasia asked.

"I am Skulduggery Pleasant," he replied as if he knew her.

She thought about it for a minute but nothing came to mind. She shrugged and shook her head as she looked around. She was suddenly more confused than before. Something had happened and now she was in the year 2014 and now she was standing in front of someone that sounded like they knew her but she didn't know them.

"I do not know you," she said hoping he had made a mistake.

"You probably wouldn't remember me," he said. "I look different now," he added.

"I still do not remember you," she said.

"I saved your life," Skulduggery said.

"When," Anastasia asked.

"You were about sixteen or seventeen at the time," Skulduggery said.

Anastasia thought about. She didn't like to think about her childhood but she had no choice. It took her a while to remember what happened when she was sixteen. Then she remembered it as if it happened yesterday.

* * *

><p><em>1576…<em>

_Anastasia was dragged through the town by her arms. She knew this wasn't going to end well so she gave up. There was no point in fighting or escaping because she had nowhere else to go. This was her home even if it haunted her with bad memories._

_Anastasia allowed the men that were dragging her to tie her to the stake in the centre of town. She knew what would happen next because she had seen it before. People didn't like what she was and she really was what they thought she was. She didn't like the term witch but that was what she was. She could do things no one else could do._

_Anastasia looked into the faces of the people that she used to call her friends and neighbours. They all looked up at her with mixed emotions. Some were angry because Anastasia had lived this long and no one had noticed that she was a witch. Some were disappointed that Anastasia would practice 'dark magic'. As Anastasia looked around she noticed something that wasn't normal. Someone was missing. Someone she knew all too well because he would always follow her around._

_Anastasia was confused to why he wasn't here. Maybe he didn't want to see her die. There was something about that boy was odd. He wasn't really liked by the people of that town but he avoided anything like what Anastasia was in now._

"_This girl is guilty of witchcraft and will be burned at the stake," the town leader said as he stood in front of Anastasia._

_He turned to face her but she didn't look at him because she was distracted by something that was in the distance behind everyone in the centre of that small town. It was something she hadn't expected to happen. She had expected fire but she had expected herself to be burned not that building in the distance._

_The leader turned to see what Anastasia was staring at because she appeared completely uninterested in her own soon to be death. He became instantly shocked when he saw the building where their harvest was being held on fire. He instantly forgot about Anastasia as he ordered people around. Everyone started to panic and run around because the harvest season had just ended and all their harvest was in that building and it was clear that they wouldn't have much to survive on after they put that fire out._

_No one was looking at Anastasia anymore and if she wasn't tied to that pillar she would have run away but she was. As everyone ran back to their homes or ran to help put out the fire Anastasia noticed one person not panicking. Anastasia watched as they walked towards her between all the people running around._

_As they climbed up to her Anastasia noticed that it was that boy that always followed her around, the one that wasn't like other boys. He quickly cut the rope holding Anastasia to the pillar. Before she even had a chance to ask what was going on he grabbed her hand and dragged her away from the centre of town and out of the town that was her home and as far as she knew his home._

_After about five minutes of running Anastasia finally stopped to ask what he was doing._

"_What is happening?" she asked._

_He didn't say anything and just stood there. He hardly ever spoke to her and she never really understood why._

"_Did you light that fire in the harvest building?" Anastasia asked making sure it was a yes or no question._

_He nodded slowly._

"_Where are we going?" Anastasia asked before he shrugged. "Well that is good," Anastasia said to herself._

* * *

><p><em>Present Day…<em>

"You are that boy that followed me around?" Anastasia asked remembering that boy very well.

Skulduggery nodded slightly.

"You look different," Anastasia said mainly to herself.

"Well it has been many years," Skulduggery said.

"Do not remind me," Anastasia replied.

It fell silent for a while until Anastasia got curious to ask what had happened. She couldn't remember everything because her mind was a jumble. Maybe whatever brought her here was the cause.

"How am I alive?" she asked after remembering lightning.

How lightning was involved in this Anastasia could not figure out or remember. But she guessed she had been struck by the lightning and that she should be dead. So why was she alive?

"I was hoping you could tell me."

"Where am I?" she asked.

"Dublin, Ireland," Skulduggery said.

"But everything is so different," Anastasia said as she looked around again.

"It has been over 300 years since you died," he said.

"I am dead," she asked herself.

"Technically you have alive now but back them you were dead," Skulduggery said as Anastasia just nodded. "And if you were still dead it wouldn't be that bad," Skulduggery added.

"And how would you know?" she asked suddenly.

"Trust me, I know."

_Yeah trust you, _she thought. She started to think trying to get a grip on the differences.

"So if it has been over 300 years does that mean that whole thing with Mevolent is over because if not this place looks took good to be true and you guys have some serious issues if that is still going on," she said.

"After you, disappeared, we eventually went to war with Mevolent and he eventually lost but it lasted many years," Skulduggery said avoiding the word 'died'.

"I never liked him," Anastasia said suddenly.

"I am certain that you worked for him."

"I worked for myself and sort of, it is very complicated," Anastasia said.

"Well you've always been complicated."

"Yes I have," Anastasia agreed.

* * *

><p>Eventually Skulduggery managed to convince Anastasia to come with him. She didn't ask where they were going or what was going to happen to her because she was more interested in what a car was. Once inside his Bentley he brought his façade down and she said.<p>

"I get it now."

"Like I said, it's not so bad," he replied.

"What do I do with this?" she asked as she held the seat belt in one hand.

"It's a seat belt, it holds you into the seat so if we were to crash, not that we will because I'm an excellent driver, you won't go flying from your seat and through the windscreen," Skulduggery explained as he clicked his own seat belt on.

Anastasia followed what Skulduggery did and clicked the seat belt in but she instantly started to fidget. Skulduggery didn't fully understand why because as far as he could tell she should have been comfortable enough she was only slightly taller than Valkyrie.

"I wouldn't adjust that seat, I got in trouble last time," Skulduggery said.

"I was not going to do such a thing and I would not even know how to," Anastasia replied.

"Then what are you doing?" he asked.

"When I died, disappeared, we had horse and carriages and nothing called seat belts or windscreens, plus this seat belt is irritating my neck," she replied.

Skulduggery watched as she held the seat belt away from her neck with her left arm while she scratched at the left side of her neck which was the opposite side of her neck to the rose tattoo. Skulduggery smiled on the inside before turning away and starting the Bentley up. At first she was freaked out a little from the sound mostly and the speed later. But eventually she calmed down and seemed to enjoy it. Well everything aside from the seat belt which was still irritating her.

"Are you going to turn me in?" she asked.

"Why would I do that?" Skulduggery asked.

"Because I killed countless resistance mages and you look like you work for them, unless you are just a very stylish skeleton that does whatever he wants whenever he wants," Anastasia said. "Plus I avoided any punishment by 'disappearing'," she added.

Skulduggery was slightly interested into why she wasn't that shocked he was a skeleton. Then again she was Anastasia and Anastasia's head was full of things much crazier than a living skeleton and Skulduggery knew that.

"I do work for the Sanctuary but I'm still a very stylish skeleton," he said.

"That you are," she replied.

"As I recall you killed a heap of people on Mevolent's side as well, didn't you," Skulduggery asked.

"I did."

This was all true. Anastasia wasn't on one side or the other side but the resistance did hate her as if she was on Mevolent's side. She liked to think she was neutral because she honestly had no idea what they were fighting over to begin with. She just liked killing people and that was the place to be if you liked that sort of thing.

Skulduggery knew that Anastasia wasn't on the resistance's side but it was hard to tell which side she was on when she was actually on any side. She once killed a whole team of resistance mages before turning around and killing her entire team and then later skipping away, actual skipping. No one had ever managed to figure out how or why she did the things she did. But Skulduggery knew that there was some sort of traumatic event in her childhood that occurred. After that she was never the same and having grown up living next door to her Skulduggery knew Anastasia the best and back then he was her best friend. Now he wasn't so sure because there seemed to be blanks in her memories.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: So I can't remember if Skulduggery's Bentley is a right hand or left hand drive or I just ran with right hand drive since that's what we have in Australia. Well that's what the majority of what the cars in Australia are because I know there are left hand driven cars here as well so I can't just claim there are none especially when my dad owns one.<strong>_


End file.
